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1Now King Darius gave a great banquet for all who were under him, all who were born in his house, and all the nobles of Media and Persia,[#v 14 ; Lk 5.29; Acts 2.9]
2and all the satraps and generals and governors who were under him in the hundred twenty-seven satrapies from India to Ethiopia.[#v 14; Esth 1.1]
3They ate and drank, and when they were satisfied they went away, and King Darius went to his bedroom; he went to sleep but woke up again.[#Jdt 12.1; 13.1]
4Then the three young men of the bodyguard who kept guard over the person of the king said to one another,
5“Let each of us state what one word is strongest, and to the one whose statement seems wisest, King Darius will give rich gifts and great honors of victory.
6He shall be clothed in purple and drink from gold cups and sleep on a gold bed and have a chariot with gold bridles and a turban of fine linen and a necklace around his neck,[#Gen 41.42; Dan 5.7, 29; 1 Macc 10.20; 11.58; #3.6 Gk on gold]
7and because of his wisdom he shall sit next to Darius and shall be called Kinsman of Darius.”[#1 Macc 10.89; 1 Esd 4.42]
8Then each bodyguard wrote his own statement, and they sealed them and put them under the pillow of King Darius and said,
9“When the king wakes, they will give him the writing, and to the one whose statement the king and the three nobles of Persia judge to be wisest the victory shall be given according to what is written.”[#Dan 6.2]
10The first wrote, “Wine is strongest.”
11The second wrote, “The king is strongest.”
12The third wrote, “Women are strongest, but above all things truth is victor.”[#3.12 Or but truth triumphs over all things]
13When the king awoke, they took the writing and gave it to him, and he read it.
14Then he sent and summoned all the nobles of Persia and Media and the satraps and generals and governors and prefects, and he took his seat in the council chamber, and the writing was read in their presence.[#v 2; 1 Esd 4.47–49]
15He said, “Call the young men, and they shall explain their statements.” So they were summoned and came in.
16They said to them, “Explain to us what you have written.”
Then the first, who had spoken of the strength of wine, began and said:
17“Gentlemen, how is wine the strongest? It leads astray the minds of all who drink it.[#Prov 20.1; 23.29–35; Isa 28.7]
18It makes equal the mind of the king and the orphan, of the slave and the free, of the poor and the rich.
19It turns every thought to feasting and gladness and forgets all sorrow and debt.[#Ps 104.15; Prov 31.6, 7; Eccl 10.19; Sir 31.28]
20It makes all hearts feel rich, forgets kings and satraps, and makes everyone talk of extravagant sums.[#3.20 Gk talents]
21When people drink they forget to be friendly with friends and kindred, and before long they draw their swords.[#Sir 31.29]
22And when they recover from the wine, they do not remember what they have done.[#Prov 23.35]
23Gentlemen, is not wine the strongest, since it forces people to do these things?” When he had said this, he stopped speaking.